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Delaware House lawmakers united behind legislation on Tuesday that will create a commission to study responses to gun violence in Wilmington, where shootings are dividing neighborhoods and threatening economic stability, lawmakers said.

The resolution heads to the Senate for a formality vote on Thursday, after the House unanimously approved the measure. All members of the General Assembly are listed as sponsors on the resolution.

Rep. Helene Keeley, a south Wilmington Democrat and prime sponsor of the joint resolution, gave an impassioned speech on the House floor on Tuesday, saying, "If we do not get a handle on these pockets of violence, it will continue to deteriorate the city."

The House vote came after an eruption of gunfire in Delaware's largest city wounded five and killed two over the weekend. Six of the victims were teenagers. Jordan Ellerbe, a 16-year-old A.I. du Pont High School freshman, was fatally shot in the head in Wilmington's Hilltop neighborhood Friday

William Rollins Jr., 18, was found about 8 p.m. on Saturday with a gunshot wound to the head near the intersection of West 21st and North Washington streets. He died at Wilmington Hospital.​

"At 16, I was concerned with whether I got my homework done, whether or not I was going to be invited to the party everyone was talking about," Keeley said. "Not whether I would be able to sleep in my bed and not hear gunshots. Not whether when I woke up, the kid who sits next to me is going to show up to school or is going to get shot dead."

Gov. Jack Markell will appoint five members to the nine-member crime commission, which will offer recommendations to the General Assembly and the governor by March 31.

Lewis Schiliro, Secretary of the Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security, a member of Markell's cabinet, will co-chair the commission with New Castle County Public Safety Director Joseph Bryant.

The resolution authorizes the Homeland Security department to contract with one or more consultants to provide assistance to the commission in generating recommendations. No cost estimate was available.

The commission will have broad authority to examine crime data, consider successful strategies in other cities, accept input from community leaders and review Wilmington police deployment.

Wilmington Mayor Dennis P. Williams said last week he would "closely review" the commission's recommendations.

Lawmakers of both parties, and from districts up and down Delaware, expressed support Tuesday for fighting violence in Wilmington.

"I know a lot of folks who are not going into the city to the restaurants, they're not going into the city for some cultural activities because they're afraid," said Rep. Joseph Miro, R-Pike Creek Valley. "We need to improve that public perception of our biggest city. Wilmington is really the economic engine for the state of Delaware."

Rep. Charles Potter Jr., D-Wilmington North, said the city's violence is rooted in a poor public education strategy and joblessness. He said proposals to curtail gun violence cannot focus on policing alone.

Potter said, however, that the city should place GPS units in police cars to track the movements of cops throughout the city.

City lawmakers also attempted to reinforce on the House floor Tuesday that Wilmington gunfire is often not random. Rep. Stephanie Bolden, D-Wilmington East, said gunfire is often exchanged between rival groups fighting for territory for drug sales. "It's not random shootings," Potter said.

Rep. James "J.J." Johnson, a New Castle Democrat who represents portions of Wilmington, said the city needs a new set of eyes to study crime, and consider ways to solve the problem. Johnson said his son and grandchildren live in Wilmington, and he worries every time he hears reports of gunfire.

"Every time I hear of an incident, of a homicide, of a shooting, I think of how close it is to my grandchildren's house, my son's house, and I think 'will they be next? Will they be a casualty of the violence?'" Johnson said.

Contact Jonathan Starkey at (302) 983-6756, on Twitter @jwstarkey or at jstarkey@delawareonline.com.